District of Columbia Highlights

How does your state compare?

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in the District of Columbia. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by the District’s elected officials:

  1. Provide support to implement the law removing all flavored tobacco products from the market and ensure one agency within the District has oversight for tobacco enforcement;
  2. Fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and
  3. Increase the cigarette tax by at least $1.00 per pack and ensure parity between the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The American Lung Association in the District of Columbia along with a very active tobacco coalition which includes both community-based organizations and national health organizations worked closely with the city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) and the Department of Health to ensure that the District’s law to remove all flavored tobacco products from the market was fully implemented and enforced. Continuing to ensure full enforcement and implementation and protecting the comprehensive law from any attempts to undermine it is an ongoing priority for the American Lung Association and its partners.

The flavors law enforcement discussion continues to highlight a broader issue that currently enforcement of tobacco related laws resides in various departments within the District of Columbia government and may not be enforced at the same level. Moving forward, advocates will encourage enforcement for all tobacco related issues be consolidated to ensure they are enforced in the most effective and consistent way. Advocates are also recommending all revenue associated with the fines be directed to enforcement efforts and to tobacco control and prevention programming.

Funding for the District’s tobacco control program increased from $1.9 million to $3.5 million for fiscal year 2025 with the allocation of JUUL settlement dollars to tobacco prevention and cessation programs. While the fact that some of the funding for the tobacco control program is recurring due to earlier year’s cigarette tax increase is a good thing, the amount remains far short of the CDC-recommended level.

The American Lung Association in the District of Columbia will continue to build champions within the Council and develop a grassroots advocacy network to advance our 2025 goals which include the continued implementation and enforcement of the legislation that passed removing all flavored tobacco products from the market in the District and ensuring that tobacco-related laws are enforced in a consistent and equitable way.

District of Columbia Facts
Healthcare Costs Due to Smoking: $391,048,877
Adult Smoking Rate: 9.80%
Adult Tobacco Use Rate: 14.20%
High School Smoking Rate: 3.20%
High School Tobacco Use Rate: 11.60%
Middle School Smoking Rate: N/A
Smoking Attributable Deaths per Year: 790
Adult smoking and tobacco use data come from CDC's 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; adult tobacco use includes cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. High school smoking and tobacco use rates are taken from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. A current middle school smoking rate is not available for the city.

Health impact information is taken from the Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity and Economic Costs (SAMMEC) software. Smoking-attributable deaths reflect average annual estimates for the period 2005-2009 and are calculated for persons aged 35 years and older. Smoking-attributable healthcare expenditures are based on 2004 smoking-attributable fractions and 2009 personal healthcare expenditure data. Deaths and expenditures should not be compared by state.

District of Columbia Information

Learn more about your state specific legislation regarding efforts towards effective Tobacco Control.

State Grades Report Laws & Policies Historical Data